The API provides a mechanism to interact with the data stored in RealEarth. The web display can be configured using these keywords on the server side (using the JavaScript initialization object) or the the client side (as part of the URL).

Keywords

Key

Description

Format

Values

Default

animationmode

Flag to specify Animation mode

Animation mode

time,layer

time

animationrock

Flag to specify Animation rocking

Boolean

true,false

animationspeed

Animation speed

Number

0-100

50

basemap

Initial basemap to display

Basemap ID

terrain,satellite,bluemarble,filled,(Product ID)

basemaps

Basemaps to be made available

(Basemap ID),...

See basemap list

bounds

Initial lat/lon bounds of display

South,West,North,East

West negative

center

Latitude and longitude to display

Latitude,Longitude

West negative

38,-97

centerproduct

Product to use to set center

Product ID

databounds

Lat/lon bounds of the data to load (shape data only)

South,West,North,East

West negative

labels

Label to use in display

Label ID

lines,grid,google

legend

Flag to set legend display

Legend type

true,false,hidden

1

logo

Flag to specify logo overlay on large images

Boolean

true,false

1

products

Products to display

(Product ID),...

selector

Flag to specify the Product Selector type

Selector type

true,false,mini

1

time

Anchor time for display and animation

Y-M-D H:m[:s]

Absolute time

timeproduct

Product to use to define animation times

Product ID

timerange

Time range to use for animation

Y-M-D h:m[:s],Y-M-D h:m[:s]

Absolute time range

timespan

Time span relative to anchor to use for animation period

#(dhmst)[,#(dhmst)]

Relative time or time range

6t

timestep

Time step to use for animation

#(dhms)

Relative time

1h

ui

Flag to enable/disable the User Interface

Boolean

true,false

1

zoom

Initial zoom level of display

Number

1-20

4

Formats and Values

A Product ID is the identifier for a given product.

Product IDs can be found by clicking the info button in the UI, or by checking the product catalog.

A product ID can optionally contain an exact date and time, formatted as [Product ID]_YYYYMMDD_hhmmss. Full year, month, day, hour, minute, and second are required.

Absolute times are formatted as YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm[:ss]. Full year, month, day, hour, and minute are required; seconds are optional.

Relative times are formatted as [-]#(dhmst), indicating a (possibly negative) offset from the anchor time. Each of dhmst specifies Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, and Timesteps respectively.

Time ranges are specified as [time start],[time end].

NOTE: Most API calls allow time to be specified using the time keyword with an arbitrary date and time. The preferred, more efficient way to specify time is to use the products keyword form [Product ID]_[YYYYMMDD]_[hhmmss], which requests the exact date and time given without the need to look up the nearest time for each individual request.

Use the products API to get a list of available times for a given set of products.

Use the time or latest API to get the nearest available or latest time for a given set of products and nominal time.

See below for examples.

Time Matching

Explanation

RealEarth uses most recent time matching. When metadata, imagery, or shapes are requested, data for the most recent time is returned, without going past the given time. Each product defines a valid time range for its own data, after which it is considered to be expired and will be ignored. Each animation step consults the API to determine which absolute time to show for each product layer.